Implant having circumferentially oriented roughness

ABSTRACT

A self-tapping dental implant includes a shaft including a coronal end, an apical end, self-tapping structure at the apical end, and an outer surface having a first axial section and a second axial section. The first axial section may be located coronally of the second axial section. Each of the first and second axial sections may include a series of peaks being axially spaced apart by troughs. In addition, the axial spacing between the adjacent peaks in the first axial section may be different than the axial spacing between adjacent peaks in the second axial section. Substantially all of the troughs in the first axial section may lie on an axial plane parallel to a main axis of the dental implant. Furthermore, the self-tapping structure may extend coronally from the apical end into the first axial section. A coronal end portion of the shaft may include the first axial section of the outer surface, and an apical end portion of the shaft may include the second axial section of the outer surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/361,383, filed Feb. 10, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,470; which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/402,918,filed Oct. 13, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,547,564; which is a 371 ofinternational Patent Application No. PCT/SE99/01272, filed Jul. 14,1999, now abandoned; and claims the benefit of Swedish Application No.9802571-1, filed Jul. 17, 1998, the entirety of all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an implant having a shaft which isadapted in use to be embedded in bone tissue and which has an outersurface provided with a circumferentially-oriented roughness. This willhereinafter be referred to as an “implant of the type defined”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Implants of the type defined are known for use as the anchoring membersof dental and orthopaedic prostheses. To this end, the implant isinserted into a bore-hole drilled into the bone tissue of a bone tissuestructure at a site where a prosthesis is required, ordinarily byscrewing of the implant into the bore-hole. The convention in the art isfor the circumferentially-oriented roughness to take the form of a screwthread and in this case the bore-hole will ordinarily be (i) providedwith internal threads in advance, or (ii) left un-tapped with theimplant being provided with a self-tapping capacity, e.g. by theprovision of one or more axially-extending cutting recesses or notchesin the screw thread.

A superstructure having the prosthetic part of the prosthesis is thensecured to the implant. In the case of a dental prosthesis, thesuperstructure will typically consist of a spacer or transmucosalcomponent which engages to the implant to bridge the gingiva overlyingthe maxilla or mandible at the implant site and the prosthetic part,e.g. a crown, bridge or denture, is then secured to the spacer. Thereare various other forms that the superstructure can take as is known inthe art. For instance, the prosthetic part may be secured directly tothe implant.

The long-term integrity of the prosthesis is highly dependent on thesuccessful osseointegration of the implant with the bone tissuestructure, that is to say, the remodelling of the bone tissue in thebone tissue structure into direct apposition with the implant. A studyon the factors which affect the osseointegration of implants wasundertaken by Professor Per-Ingvar Br{dot over (a)}nemark and co-workersand the results were published in a book entitled “OsseointegratedImplants in the Treatment of the Edentulous Jaw: Experience from a10-Year Period”, Almqvist & Wiskell International, Stockholm, Sweden,1977. It was found by Br{dot over (a)}nemark et al that successfulosseointegration depends upon inter alia the use of biocompatiblematerials for the implant, for example titanium and alloys thereof, andthe surgical procedure adopted, for example leaving the implant unloadedfor several months before adding the superstructure.

Implants of the type defined are not necessarily always used as part ofa prosthesis, in some instances they can be a “stand alone” structure.As an example, implants of the type defined are known for use as bonefixation screws. The success of these “stand alone” implants is alsohighly dependent on their successful osseointegration.

Implants of the type defined have some notable advantages in promotingsuccessful osseointegration with the adjacent bone tissue, a major onebeing as a result of the fact that the main loads on the implant in theclinical situation are axial loads. These implants are very well suitedto support axial loads and this may be particularly important in theinitial stages of the osseointegration process in which it is importantthat the implant is fully stable and as immovable as possible in theborehole (primary fixation). One can consider this to be due to the bonetissue growing into the troughs between adjacent peaks of thecircumferentially-oriented roughness on the implant.

The Applicant has also identified that it is advantageous for an implantof the type defined to transmit the axial loading thereon evenly to theadjacent bone tissue to prevent high stress concentrations occurring inthe adjacent bone tissue and concomitantly marginal bone tissueresorption. If marginal bone tissue resorption occurs this will reducethe anchorage of the implant and may undermine the long-term stabilityof the implant resulting in due course in failure of the prosthesis, Inthe particular case of dental prostheses, the aesthetic appeal is alsoundermined by marginal bone tissue resorption, an important drawbacksince dental prosthetics forms part of the field of cosmetic surgery.

The present invention proposes to provide an implant of the type definedhaving features which promote its maintenance in a bone tissue structurewhilst at the same time facilitating its insertion into the bone tissuestructure in the first place.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided an implant of thetype defied in which the circumferentially-oriented roughness has firstand second axial sections each comprising a series ofcircumferentially-oriented peaks which have a crest and which areaxially spaced apart by troughs, the axial spacing between the crests ofadjacent peaks in the first axial section is less than the axial spacingbetween the crests of adjacent peaks in the second axial section and thefirst and second axial sections of circumferentially-oriented roughnessare adapted in use to provide the same or substantially the same pitch.

The larger inter-peak spacing in the second axial section ofcircumferentially-oriented roughness acts to promote primary fixation ofthe implant in the bone tissue during the early phases ofosseointegration since each trough between adjacent peaks can capture arelatively large volume of bone tissue to interlock the implant with thebone tissue. The smaller inter-peak spacing in the first axial section,on the other hand, enables the stiffness of the implant to be increasedthereby improving the ability of the implant to transmit loads moreevenly to the bone tissue to inhibit marginal bone resorption. Adaptingthe first and second axial sections to have the same or substantiallythe same pitch means that both axial sections produce the same orsubstantially the same axial displacement into the bone tissue on onerotation thereof thus ensuring that the provision of the two differentaxial sections of circumferentially-oriented roughness does notcomplicate insertion of the implant into the bone tissue. If the firstand second axial sections of circumferentially-oriented roughness didnot have the same or substantially the same pitch then a greater forcewould need to be applied to insert the implant resulting in fracturesbeing formed in the bone tissue.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the pitch is a predetermined distance, the ratio of thepredetermined distance to the axial spacing between the crests ofadjacent peaks in the first axial section is a first multiple integerand the ratio of the predetermined distance to the axial spacing betweenthe crests of adjacent peaks in the second axial section is a secondmultiple integer which is less than the first multiple integer. Thefirst multiple integer may be a multiple integer of the second multipleinteger.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the peaks in the first and second axial sections arecircumferentially-oriented at a common inclined angle to the main axisof the implant.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the shaft has a coronal end and an apical end and the firstaxial section is located coronally of the second axial section.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the first and second axial sections are contiguous.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the first axial section extends from the coronal end of theshaft to a position coronally of the apical end and the second axialsection extends from the first axial section towards the apical end ofthe shaft. The implant may have a coronal end which is spaced coronallyfrom the coronal end of the shaft by a smooth coronal portion of theimplant, as in the embodiment of the invention hereinafter to bedescribed, in which case the smooth coronal portion is preferably nomore than 4% of the total length of the implant, more preferably in therange 1.5-3.7% of said total length.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the axial extent of the first axial section is greater thanthe axial extent of the second axial section. Alternatively, the axialextent of the first axial section may be less than the axial extent ofthe second axial section or the axial extents of the first and is secondaxial sections may be the same or substantially the same.

In an embodiment of the invention in which the first axial section isdisposed coronally of the second axial section, such as the onehereinafter to be described, a blind bore extends apically into theshaft from the coronal end thereof to an end surface in-between theapical and coronal ends of the shaft for a superstructure to be securedto the implant, the blind bore comprising an internally-threaded sectionhaving a coronal edge and an apical edge for screw connection of thesuperstructure to the implant with the apical edge terminating at aposition which is disposed apically of the first axial section.Alternately, the apical edge of the internally-threaded section of theblind bore may terminate at a position which is disposed coronally ofthe second axial section. The internally-threaded section may be anapical section of the blind bore, as in the embodiment of the inventionhereinafter to be described.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed all or substantially all of the crests of the peaks in thefirst and second axial sections lie on an axial plane parallel to themain axis of the shaft. Expressed another way, the major transversedimension of the implant at the first and second axial sections isuniform.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the height of the peaks, as measured from the troughs to thecrests, in the first axial section differs from that in the second axialsection. To advantage, the height of the peaks in the first axialsection is less than that in the second axial section. This featurefurther enables the stiffness of the implant to be increased.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention the height of the peaks,as measured from the troughs to the crests, in the first axial sectionis the same or substantially the same as in the second axial section.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the ratio of the height of the peaks, as measured from thetroughs to the crests, to the axial spacing between the crests ofadjacent peaks in the first axial section is the same or substantiallythe same as in the second axial section.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the height of the peaks, as measured from the troughs to thecrests, in the first axial section is no greater than 0.2 mm, forexample in the range 0.02-0.20 mm, and the height of the peaks, asmeasured from the troughs to the crests, in the second axial section isgreater than that in the first axial section, for instance in the range0.15 mm to 1 mm. Such heights complement the primary fixation andstiffness characteristics of the implant provided by the differentinter-peak spacings of the first and second axial sections.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the peaks in the first and second axial sections are boundedby flank surfaces and the angle between the opposed flanks of adjacentpeaks in the first and second axial sections is the same.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the troughs in at least one of the first and second axialsections are a continuous curved surface.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the circumferentially-oriented roughness in the first and/orsecond axial section is presented by a screw thread profile with thecircumferentially-oriented peaks being defined by thread elements of thescrew thread profile.

Typically, the screw thread profile of the first and/or second axialsection will be formed by a screw thread structure. In such case, thescrew thread structure of the first axial section may be formed by afirst set of independent screw threads each having turns; the turns ofeach independent screw thread in the first set defining thread elementsin the first axial section and being sequentially arranged with theturns of the other independent screw threads in the first set withadjacent turns of one of the independent screw threads of the first setbeing axially-spaced apart by a predetermined spacing distance which isthe same for adjacent turns of the other independent screw threads inthe first set; and the screw thread structure of the second axialsection may be formed by (i) an independent screw thread having turnswhich define the thread elements of the second axial section and areaxially-spaced apart by the predetermined spacing distance oressentially the predetermined spacing distance, or (ii) a second set ofindependent screw threads numbering less than in the first set eachhaving turns, the urns of each independent screw thread in the secondset defining thread elements in the second axial section and beingsequentially arranged with the turns of the other independent screwthreads in the second set with adjacent turns of each independent screwthread of the second set being axially-spaced apart by the predeterminedspacing distance or essentially the predetermined spacing distance.

In an embodiment of the invention one or more of the independent screwthreads of the first and second axial sections are shared by the firstand second axial sections.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the or each independent screw thread of at least one of thefirst and second axial sections is a microthread, that is to say, athread having a height which is no greater than 0.2 mm.

In an embodiment of the invention only the screw threads of the firstaxial section are microthreads. It could be the case, though, that thescrew threads of both the first and second axial sections aremicrothreads.

In an embodiment of the invention the circumferentially-orientedroughness in at least one of the first and second axial sections isformed by a series of axially spaced-apart circumferential lines ofbeads. The beads in each line may be circumferentially spaced-apart.

In an embodiment of the invention such as the one hereinafter to bedescribed the implant is a dental implant adapted for implantation inthe maxilla or mandible of an edentulous patient for supporting asuperstructure which presents one or more artificial teeth.

According to the invention there is further provided a method ofimplanting an implant into a bone tissue structure comprising the stepsof providing an implant according to the invention, providing abore-hole in the bone tissue structure and screwing the implant into thebore-hole so that the shaft is embedded in the bone tissue.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

By way of example, a self-tapping endosseous screw-type dental implantin accordance with the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying Figures of drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the dental implant;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dental implant;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the dental implant;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the dental implant;

FIG. 5 is an underneath view of the dental implant;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a first section of the external screwthreading on the dental implant;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a second section of the external screwthreading on the dental implant.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a dental implant havingcircumferentially-oriented roughness consisting of axially spaced,circumferential lines of beads; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a dental implant havingcircumferentially-oriented roughness in which the height of the peaks inthe first axial section and the height of the peaks in the second axialsection is the same, and including a schematic illustration of anexample of a prosthetic component secured to the implant.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In the accompanying Figures of drawings there is shown various views ofa self-tapping endosseous screw-type dental implant 10 of a dentalprosthesis in accordance with the present invention. The implant 10 isfor insertion into a bore-hole hole drilled into a toothless-site in amaxilla or mandible of a partially or fully edentulous patient to anchorto the maxilla or mandible a superstructure of the prosthesis whichcomprises a prosthetic part, namely one or more artificial teeth. Theimplant 10 is made from commercially pure titanium, a titanium alloy,another biocompatible metal or metal alloy or a ceramic to promoteosseointegration of the implant with the bone tissue of the boundarywalls of the bore-hole.

Referring to FIG. 1, the implant 10 has an apical end 1 which ispresented by a first conical section 3 to ease insertion of the implant10 into the bore-hole, a coronal end 5 presented by a second conicalsection 6 and an intermediate section 7 of constant diameter whichextends between the first and second conical sections 3, 6.

The length of the implant may be in the range 8-19 mm, depending on theclinical situation, and have a maximum outer diameter of 3.5 mm or 4.0mm. The axial extent of the second conical portion 6 is preferably smallcompared to the total length of the implant 10, as an example no morethan 4.0% perhaps in the range 1.5%-3.7%.

Turning to FIGS. 2 to 4, a socket 9 having an open end 11 in the coronalend 5 extends apically into the implant 10. The socket 9 is forreceiving an abutment structure (which is an example of a prostheticcomponent 12 schematically shown in FIG. 9 as being secured to implant1) which will bridge the gingival overlying the bore-hole andsupport/present the prosthetic part. The socket 9 consists of a conicalcoronal section 13, an internally-threaded apical section 15 and acylindrical intermediate section 17. The abutment structure will have anapical section which is able to be screw retained in the implant socket9 for releasably securing the abutment structure to the implant 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, 6 and 7, the outer surface of the implant 10over the major part of its length is provided with screw threading whichis divided into coronal and apical sections 19, 21 having differentthread heights h1, h2. As shown most clearly in FIG. 1, the coronalsection 19 of screw threading is positioned on the intermediatecylindrical section 7 of the implant 10 whereas the apical section 21 ofthe screw threading bridges the intermediate cylindrical section 7 andthe first conical section 3.

Referring to FIG. 6, the screw threading in the coronal section 19 iscomposed of a series of axially spaced-apart screw thread elements eachhaving the same height h1. These screw thread elements are formed by theturns of three separate microthreads (triple microthread) which aresequentially arranged. This means that a screw thread element formed bya first turn of one of the microthreads is axially spaced from a screwthread element formed by the next turn of that microthread by two otherscrew thread elements, each being respectively formed by a turn of theother two microthreads. A screw thread element belonging to one of themicrothreads is therefore axially spaced from the next adjacent screwthread element formed by the same microthread by screw thread elementsfrom each of the other two microthreads. By “microthread” is meant ascrew thread having a height which is no greater than 0.2 mm.Accordingly, the screw thread elements in the coronal section 19 have aheight h1 which is no greater than 0.2 mm, preferably 0.1 mm.

Referring to FIG. 7, the screw threading in the apical section 21 iscomposed of a series of axially spaced-apart screw thread elementswhich, other than those in the first conical section 3, each have thesame height h2. The screw thread elements of the apical section 21 areformed by the turns of a single macrothread. By “macrothread” is meant ascrew thread having a height greater than 0.2 mm. Accordingly, the screwthread elements of the apical section 21 on the intermediate section 7have a height greater than 0.2 μm, preferably 0.3 mm.

The angle formed between the coronal and apical flanks of adjacent screwthread elements is the same in both the coronal and apical sections 19,21. Preferably the angle formed is 80°. It will also be noted from FIGS.6 and 7 that the coronal and apical flanks of adjacent screw threadelements in the coronal and apical sections 19, 21 are connected by acurved surface, that is to say, there is no axial straight partin-between adjacent screw thread elements in the coronal and apicalsections 19, 21.

As can be seen particularly from FIGS. 1 and 3, the tips of the screwthread elements of the coronal section 19 and the tips of the screwthread elements of the apical section 21 positioned in the intermediatecylindrical section 7 of the implant 10 all lie on a common plane whenviewed in side section and circumscribe the circumference of thecylindrical intermediate section 7. In other words, the major diameterof the intermediate cylindrical section 7 is constant.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, as well as the screw thread elements in thecoronal and apical sections 19, 21 having different heights from oneanother the crest-to-crest spacing between adjacent screw threadelements in the coronal section 19 is different from the crest-to-crestspacing between adjacent screw thread elements in the apical section 21.The crest-to-crest spacing in the coronal section 19 is d whereas thecrest-to-crest spacing in the apical section 21 is 3 d. As an example, dmay be 0.22 mm. In the case where h1 is 0.1 mm and h2 is 0.3 mm theratio of the inter-crest spacing to the height would thus be the samefor both the coronal and apical threaded sections 19, 21, namelyd/h1=2.2=3d/h2.

It follows from the above that the crest-to-crest spacing betweenadjacent screw thread elements of each microthread is the same as thatbetween adjacent screw thread elements of the macrothread, namely 3 d.The fact that the crest-to-crest spacing between adjacent screw threadelements per se in the coronal section 19 is less than that in theapical section 21 is, of course, due to adjacent turns of eachmicrothread being interspersed with a turn from each of the other twomicrothreads. It will also be noted from FIG. 1 that the turns of themicrothreads and the macrothreads are aligned parallel with one anotherat an inclined angle to the rotational axis of the implant 10.

It will be gathered from the above that the pitch of the coronal andapical threaded sections, 19, 21 will be the same, again being 3 d. Forthis reason, the pitch of the implant 10 remains uniform along itslength notwithstanding the difference in crest-to-crest spacing in theapical and coronal threaded sections 19, 21, that is to say, the coronaland apical screw threaded sections 19, 21 will both produce the sameaxial displacement of the implant 10 when being screwed into thebore-hole provided therefor at the toothless site in the maxilla ormandible. If the coronal and apical sections 19, 21 did not haveconstant pitch then a greater force would need to be applied to insertthe implant 10 into the bore-hole resulting in bone threads formed inthe boundary wall of the bore-hole being fractured.

As a rule, a constant pitch for two threaded sections having differentcrest-to-crest spacings between the adjacent screw thread elementsthereof will result where the first threaded section is formed by thesequential arrangement of the turns of a first set of screw threads eachhaving the same pitch and the second threaded section is formed by (i) asingle screw thread having the same pitch as the screw threads in thefirst threaded section, or (ii) the sequential arrangement of the turnsof a second set of screw threads numbering less than in the first seteach having the same pitch as the screw threads in the first threadedsection. The number of screw threads in the first threaded section doesnot need to be a multiple integer of the number of screw threads in thesecond threaded section, as in the illustrated embodiment of theinvention. For example, there could be five microthreads in the coronalsection 19 and two macrothreads in the apical section 21.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5, the implant 10 has three cuttingrecesses or grooves 23 a, 23 b, 23 c positioned symmetrically about thecircumference of the apical end 1 of the implant 10 for self-tapping ofthe implant 10 when being screwed into the bore-hole provided thereforin the maxilla or mandible.

In use, the implant 10 is screwed into the bore-hole provided at thetoothless-site in the maxilla or mandible such that the coronal andapical sections 19, 21 are embedded in bone tissue with the secondconical section 6 protruding from the maxilla or mandible. The screwthread elements of the macrothreads in the apical section 21 of theimplant 10 act to provide primary fixation of the implant in thebore-hole. The screw thread elements of the microthreads in the coronalsection 19 also act to provide fixation for the implant 10 in thebore-hole. As a result of the screw threads in the coronal section 19being microthreads, though, the implant 10 is stiffer than it would beif the screw threads were macrothreads as in the apical section 21. Thisenables the implant 10 to transfer loads more evenly to the bone tissueadjacent the implant 10 and consequendy promote better remodelling ofthe bone tissue into apposition with the implant 10. Moreover, as themicrothreads are positioned at the coronal end 5 of the implant 10 theloads transferred thereby helps alleviate the problem of bone tissueresorption at the coronal surface of the maxilla or mandible (marginalbone tissue resorption).

The provision of micro threads in the coronal section 19 also enables areasonable wall thickness to be retained around the tapered coronalsection 13 of the socket 9 in the implant 10, when compared to the wallthickness that would result from use of macrothreads in the coronalsection 19 in any event. This helps preserve the mechanical strength ofthe implant 10.

To conclude, the dental implant 10 has a screw threaded outer surface19, 21 which (i) makes it straightforward for the implant 10 to bescrewed into a bone tissue structure, and (ii) promotes the short- andlong-term stability of the implant 10 in the bone tissue structure.

It will be appreciated that the invention has been illustrated withreference to an exemplary embodiment and that the invention can bevaried in many different ways within the scope of the appended claims.As an example, although the illustrated example is a dental implant theinvention has equal application in other areas, for example, theorthopaedic area.

Finally, it is to be noted that the inclusion in the appended claims ofreference numerals used in the Figures of drawings is purely forillustrative purposes and not to be construed as having a limitingeffect on the scope of the claims.

1. A self-tapping dental implant, comprising: a shaft including acoronal end, an apical end, self-tapping means at the apical end, and anouter surface having a first axial section and a second axial section,the first axial section being located coronally of the second axialsection, wherein each of the first and second axial sections comprises aseries of peaks being axially spaced apart by troughs, wherein the axialspacing between the adjacent peaks in the first axial section isdifferent than the axial spacing between adjacent peaks in the secondaxial section, wherein substantially all of the troughs in the firstaxial section lie on an axial plane parallel to a main axis of thedental implant, wherein the self-tapping means extends coronally fromthe apical end into the first axial section, wherein a coronal endportion of the shaft includes the first axial section of the outersurface, and wherein an apical end portion of the shaft includes thesecond axial section of the outer surface.
 2. The self-tapping dentalimplant of claim 1, wherein the self-tapping means comprises a pluralityof cutting edges symmetrically distributed about the shaft.
 3. Theself-tapping dental implant of claim 2, wherein the self-tapping meansfurther comprises a plurality of cutting grooves, respective portions ofthe cutting grooves and outer surface portions of the dental implantdefine the cutting edges.
 4. The self-tapping dental implant of claim 3,wherein each respective cutting edge is defined by respective cuttinggroove and outer surface portions defining an angle of about 90 degrees.5. The self-tapping dental implant of claim 1, wherein substantially allof the peaks of the second axial section are configured to be screwedinto bone tissue.
 6. The self-tapping dental implant of claim 1, whereinthe peaks of the second axial section form at least one screw thread. 7.The self-tapping dental implant of claim 6, wherein the at least onescrew thread of the second axial section is continuous.
 8. Theself-tapping dental implant of claim 6, wherein the at least one screwthread of the second axial section is disposed in a right-handeddirection, such that the dental implant is inserted when turned in aclockwise direction.
 9. The self-tapping dental implant of claim 1,wherein the self-tapping means further comprises a plurality of cuttinggrooves.
 10. The self-tapping dental implant of claim 9, wherein atleast one of the plurality of cutting grooves includes a substantiallyflat surface.
 11. The self-tapping dental implant of claim 1, whereinthe peaks of the first axial section form at least one screw thread. 12.The self-tapping dental implant of claim 1, wherein the peaks of thefirst axial section form a plurality of screw thread elements.
 13. Theself-tapping dental implant of claim 12, wherein each of the pluralityof screw thread elements are continuous.
 14. The self-tapping dentalimplant of claim 1, wherein the self-tapping means extends coronallyinto the first axial section by at least three adjacent peaks.
 15. Adental implant system, comprising: the dental implant of claim 1; and aprosthetic component configured to be secured to the dental implant. 16.The dental implant system of claim 15, wherein the prosthetic componentis selected from the group consisting of at least one of asuperstructure, a spacer, an abutment structure, a transmucosalcomponent, a crown, a bridge, a denture, and one or more artificialteeth and combinations thereof.
 17. The dental implant system of claim15, wherein the prosthetic component includes a prosthetic componentselected from the group consisting of at least one of a crown, a bridge,a denture, and one or more artificial teeth and combinations thereof,wherein the prosthetic component also includes a superstructure selectedfrom the group consisting of at least one of a spacer, an abutmentstructure, and a transmucosal component and combinations thereof.
 18. Amethod of implanting a dental implant into a jawbone, comprising:providing the dental implant of claim 1; boring a hole in the jawbone;and inserting the dental implant into the bored hole of the jawbone. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein inserting the dental implant into thebored hole involves screwing the dental implant into the bored hole ofthe jawbone.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein inserting the dentalimplant involves screwing at least some of the peaks of the first andsecond axial sections into the bored hole of the jawbone.
 21. The methodof claim 20, wherein screwing at least some the peaks includes using theself-tapping means to create initial cuts in the bored hole of thejawbone.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein the first and second axialsections are inserted into the bored hole of the jawbone atsubstantially the same or each rotation of the dental implant.
 23. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising securing a prosthetic componentto the dental implant, wherein the prosthetic component is selected fromthe group consisting of at least one of a superstructure, a spacer, anabutment structure, a transmucosal component, a crown, a bridge, adenture, and one or more artificial teeth and combinations thereof. 24.A method of manufacturing a dental implant, comprising: providing ashaft including a coronal end, an apical end, and an outer surfacehaving a first axial section and a second axial section, the first axialsection being located coronally of the second axial section; creating oneach axial section a series of peaks being axially spaced apart bytroughs, wherein the axial spacing between adjacent peaks in the firstaxial section is different than the axial spacing between adjacent peaksin the second axial section, and wherein substantially all of thetroughs in the first axial section lie on an axial plane parallel to amain axis of the dental implant; and creating a self-tapping means atthe apical end, wherein the self-tapping means extends from the apicalend into the first axial section; wherein a coronal end portion of theshaft includes the first axial section of the outer surface, and whereinan apical end portion of the shaft includes the second axial section ofthe outer surface.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein creating theself-tapping means includes creating a plurality of cutting edgessymmetrically distributed about the shaft.
 26. The method of claim 25,wherein creating the self-tapping means includes creating a plurality ofcutting grooves, respective portions of the cutting grooves and outersurface portions of the dental implant define the cutting edges.
 27. Themethod of claim 26, wherein each respective cutting edge is defined byrespective cutting groove and outer surface portions defining an angleof about 90 degrees.
 28. The method of claim 24, wherein creating theself-tapping means includes creating a plurality of cutting groovessymmetrically distributed about the shaft.
 29. The method of claim 28,wherein at least one of the plurality of cutting grooves includes asubstantially flat surface.
 30. The method of claim 24, wherein creatingthe self-tapping means includes creating the self-tapping means suchthat the self-tapping means extends coronally into the first axialsection by at least three adjacent peaks.
 31. A self-tapping dentalimplant, comprising: a shaft including a coronal end, an apical end,self-tapping means at the apical end, and an outer surface having afirst axial section and a second axial section, the first axial sectionbeing located coronally of the second axial section, wherein each of thefirst and second axial sections comprises a series of peaks beingaxially spaced apart by troughs, wherein the axial spacing between theadjacent peaks in the first axial section is different than the axialspacing between adjacent peaks in the second axial section, whereinsubstantially all of the troughs in the first axial section lie on anaxial plane parallel to a main axis of the dental implant, wherein theself-tapping means extends coronally into the first axial section,wherein a coronal end portion of the shaft includes the first axialsection of the outer surface, and wherein an apical end portion of theshaft includes the second axial section of the outer surface.